Tragic ending to pensioner’s life
After suffering the loss of his father in the Glasgow bombings of World War 2, he set off for Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia at age 17.
John (Jock) Gilchrist was (92) recently attacked and robbed in his Southport home.
The house robbery took place in his twilight years which ultimately led to his death on Saturday, March 27.
His daughter Beverly Krause said she was chatting to her father on the telephone when intruders managed to get inside his home.
Mrs Krause said her father was pottering around the garden and had gone to answer her phone call when the incident unfolded.
“The men accosted my father by tying his hands behind his back and his ankles together. They threw him onto the ground, and then hauled him into his bedroom before ransacking his home. They also threatened him by putting a knife to his throat,” she said.
They fled with his bank card and a cellphone.
“They were looking for cash, which my father had very little of in the house,” she added.
“Being so frail the attack left him shaken-up and with wounds that needed to be treated. We believe the shock of the attack (or perhaps he bumped his head during the incident) had set in and tragically his health quickly deteriorated.”
His son Michael, said his father was born in Renfrew, Glasgow, and raised on the Isle of Cumbrae during war time.
After suffering the loss of his father in the Glasgow bombings of World War 2, he set off for Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia at age 17.
He sailed through the Mediterranean, Suez Canal and south to Durban on the Union Castle Line.
He married Iris Wilcock from Lancashire and together they had two children, Michael and Beverley.
The family loved caravanning, touring many parts of Rhodesia and South Africa.
He worked for Rhodesia Railways for most of his career, which took him to Livingstone, Lusaka, Kitwe, with the bulk of his time spent in Bulawayo.
The couple followed their children to South Africa upon his early retirement during the mid-eighties, and settled in Southport.
Together they built their house and enjoyed many happy years in the town, forming great relationships with friends and neighbours.
He lived alone since 2002 after Iris died.
Mr Gilchrist loved to tinker around his home and garden, and was an electrician by trade.
He is survived by two children and four grandchildren, two of whom are overseas.
Police spokesman, Captain Petros Mpinge confirmed that a case of house robbery is being investigated, but no arrest had been made as yet.
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